Thread by @DougBockClark

1/ Republican Jefferson Griffin is trying to overturn an election loss by throwing out the ballots of over 5,500 military and overseas voters—despite having previously used the same method of voting himself, ProPublica reveals. A 🧵👇#ncpol:
propublica.org/article/jeffer…

2/ Documents obtained by @propublica via open records request show that Griffin used military absentee ballots in 2019 and 2020, while serving as a captain and a JAG in the Army National Guard. This has not been previously reported. #ncpol

documentcloud.org/documents/2549…

@propublica 3/ Griffin is trying to disqualify 5,500 military and overseas ballots in heavily Democratic counties, ignoring ballots from Republican areas, a @propublica review of the contested ballots found.

documentcloud.org/documents/2549…

@propublica 4/ While Griffin is trying to discount multiple types of ballots, the military ballots have become extra important. Griffin has asked the Supreme Court to consider them first and, if nullifying them proves determinative, hand the election to him. tinyurl.com/4d2ebptp

@propublica 5/ Griffin’s shift to trying to disqualify these ballots comes after his attempts to challenge other types have been repeatedly dismissed by state election board, a federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump, and even a right-wing activist who originally pushed it.

@propublica 6/ In a virtual meeting, the right-wing activist called it “voter suppression” and said he was “100%” certain it would fail in court, as @propublica has reported.

propublica.org/article/jeffer…

@propublica 7/ Griffin has gone to extraordinary lengths to have this matter heard by the state Supreme Court, which is led by a man he has called his “good friend and mentor.”

nsjonline.com/article/2023/0…

@propublica 8/ The state supreme court has a strong Republican majority, most of the spouses of which have donated to Griffin’s most recent or previous campaigns, @ProPublica has reported.

@propublica 9/ Griffin is arguing that ballots cast by overseas and military voters should not be counted if they did not also provide photo identification, such as a photocopy of a driver’s license.

@propublica 10/ His position contradicts that of the bipartisan state election board, which had issued a rule before the election stating that such voters did not have to provide an ID. It also unanimously rejected Griffin’s previous attempts to make this argument.

newsobserver.com/news/politics-…

@propublica 11/ “We have previously adopted a rule that says military and overseas voters are not required to show a voter ID,” said a Republican member of the board, when rejecting Griffin’s challenges. “Unless a court says otherwise, I’d find that we’re bound by that rule.”

@propublica 12/ When Griffin voted using a military absentee ballot in 2019 and 2020 North Carolina did not require voters to provide voter ID.

@propublica 13/ Griffin’s challenges have attracted increasing national attention, as his efforts to overturn the election have become ever more intense.

@propublica 14/ “ I’m aghast at the audacity of what Republicans here in North Carolina are up to,” wrote
@FrankBruni. “They are following in their leader’s footsteps and trying to steal an election… The fight over Riggs’s court seat is less anomaly than omen.”

nytimes.com/2025/01/16/opi…

@propublica @FrankBruni 15/ Whether these ballots will count in the Griffin-Riggs race is currently being considered in parallel legal proceedings at the North Carolina Supreme Court and federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is the last unresolved election in the nation from 2024.

@propublica @FrankBruni 16/ ProPublica sent Griffin a list of detailed questions, to which he replied: “I am not allowed to comment on pending litigation. It would be a violation of our NC Code of Judicial Conduct for me to do so.”

@propublica @FrankBruni 17/ “Judge Griffin’s targeting of military and overseas voters from four heavily Democratic counties lays plain his goal: toss votes to retroactively win an election he already lost,” said Embry Owen said, Riggs’ campaign manager.

@propublica @FrankBruni 18/ A voting rights advocate has compiled a list of challenged ballots; you can check whether your vote is among them below. If it is, I want to hear your story. Email me: [e-mail] and briefly describe why you were challenged. tinyurl.com/2pyjfsbe